The Shahadatul Alimiyyah and Humanities programme is the main course offered at the Arafura Institute and is composed of two main branches. Being authorised by Shaykh Muhammad Ramadan al-Qadri, a graduate of the preeminent al-Azhar University, the Shahadah Alimiyya (Certification of Islamic Scholarship) is the traditional degree awarded upon five years of completion of the major subjects of the Islamic Sciences that have been studied since late antiquity. 

The full Shahada Alimiyyah signifies that one has sufficiently studied and attained recognition in learning by his or her teachers within fields such as the Arabic languages, Islamic law and jurisprudence (Fiqh & usul al-Fiqh), Hadith studies, Quran studies and theology (Aqeedah). The Shahada is one of the most prestigious forms of qualification that a student can attain within their journey of the traditional Islamic Sciences. This traditional branch of learning is complemented and combined with instruction in the modern arts and humanities. This branch of the course aims to provide students with the required knowledge of subjects of a broader nature beyond the religious sciences, fields such as Philosophy, Politics and Economics shall be the main focus. 

The first three years of the course will introduce and deeply explore the aforementioned fields through the completion of beginner and intermediate texts (more details of which can be found on the ‘subjects’ page) and will teach topics and texts of a more advanced level in the last two years, where students will also focus more upon independent research projects. With mastery of both the traditional religious sciences and the contemporary knowledge required to progress within the modern age, students of Arafura’s Alimiyya and Humanities course will graduate as future teachers, community leaders, activists and most importantly, well-rounded, ethically centred and thoughtful members of the global community.